F1 champion Max Verstappen announces epic Apple TV race as new deal agreed

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Max Verstappen announces epic Apple TV race as new deal agreed

Max Verstappen has been challenged to a race

Sam Cook Digital Journalist

Sports Journalist who has been covering motorsport since 2023

Wednesday 11 March 2026 18:58

Four-time F1 world champion Max Verstappen has accepted an invitation for a race away from F1 from Apple CEO Tim Cook.

Verstappen is one of the most successful F1 drivers in history, sitting third on the all-time lists of grand prix wins and podiums, as well as having obtained four championships consecutively between 2021-2024.

But the Dutchman is also known for his racing exploits away from F1, recently announcing that he will be taking part in the iconic Nurburgring 24 Hours race, and having been a sim racing enthusiast for a number of years.

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And now he could be heading to an altogether different kind of racing, after a new deal between F1 and Apple TV was announced.

F1 fans in the US are now able to watch every F1 race live on Apple TV, after the streaming giants signed a five-year media rights deal with the sport off the back of the success of their F1 movie last year.

Apple TV allow fans to watch the Sky Sports feed from the UK, the F1TV feed, or to be onboard with any of the 22 drivers on the grid.

And that includes Verstappen, who has recently been invited to race against Apple CEO Cook.

In a post on X advertising the new partnership between Apple TV and F1, Cook can be seen racing around Apple Park in a buggy, while Verstappen and his Red Bull crew are also used in the advert, activating race mode on Cook's buggy.

Cook captioned the post: "Thanks for the tune up @Max33Verstappen. Next time, we race." Verstappen replied to the post seemingly confirming some kind of upcoming battle, saying: "You’re on. What’s the speed limit at Apple Park?"

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Verstappen's many racing exploits

As well as winning eight grands prix in F1 last year (more than any other driver), Verstappen also won on his GT3 debut at the Nurburgring Nordschleife.

On top of this, Verstappen owns his own successful GT Racing team, now called Mercedes-AMG Team Verstappen Racing for the 2026 season.

Verstappen Racing are going to be competing in the Pro Class of the GT World Challenge Europe, rather than the Gold Cup, something which Verstappen has stated has been a goal of his and the team.

Verstappen has also over the past couple of years been competing in some high-level sim racing events, including famously the 24 Hours of Spa on the same weekend as a disastrous 2024 Hungarian Grand Prix performance.

In a tantalising prospect, Verstappen also recently teased teaming up with fellow F1 legends Fernando Alonso and Sebastian Vettel in a potential future bid for Le Mans glory in endurance racing.

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